walnut butter cake

So, I am back with another version of Mrs Ng SK’s very famous, and very, very delicious butter cake!

I started this year with a post on Banana Walnut Bread. And like a true Aunty, I bought a huge bag of walnuts. Well, things tend to be cheaper when bought in bulk. So, now I have quite a bit of walnuts left.

And since Chinese New Year is around the corner (Yes, we have a BIG giveaway for CNY coming up, so stay tuned!), I naturally thought of Walnut Butter Cakes. I am not sure why that is. Sometimes, we should just go with the flow and not examine things in too much detail. 😛

Anyway! I started thinking of Walnut Butter Cakes, and very naturally, I could not help dreaming of Mrs Ng SK’s yummy cake recipe. It is my absolute favoritest (just to emphasize on how much I love this recipe) butter cake recipe, as can be seen in my renditions of the the original version here, the cocoa version here and the marble version here.

And here’s the walnut version.

Isn’t it beautiful?

I didn’t want to simply add walnuts to the cake and call it a Walnut Butter Cake. What I wanted was to add more walnut flavor to what is already a perfect cake. So I ground some walnuts and added them to the recipe, as well as made some minor adjustments.

In the end, what I got was a cake that was still buttery, still moist, yet you can clearly taste the flavor of the walnuts. I am totally satisfied.

So enough rambling. Let me show you how to make this cake!

In a food processor, ground the walnuts until fine but not powdery. You should still be able to see the bits of walnuts.

If you do not have a food processor, I guess you will need to pound the walnuts until fine. It’s a lot of effort though..

Add the walnuts to the dry ingredients and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.

Into this, add the egg yolks, one at a time, and continue beating until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix.

Fold in the dry ingredients and milk in the sequence flour-milk-flour. Mix until the flour is just incorporated.

Set this aside.

In a clean mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy.

Gradually add the sugar, whisking all the while until stiff peaks form.

Transfer 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk mixture. Beat it in.

Gently fold in the remaining meringue in 2 batches, until no white streaks remain.

Pour the batter into a lined and lightly greased 8-inch round pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle some walnuts on top. I used walnuts that have been roughly chopped but you can use whole walnuts if you like.

Bake at 170°C for 45 minutes. As I noticed that the top of the cake was getting quite brown, I reduced the heat to 150°C in the final 20 minutes, then to 140°C in the final 5 minutes. You need to keep an eye on the cake and to know how your oven behaves so you can make the necessary adjustments.

When the cake is done (insert a skewer it the cake and if it emerges cleanly it is done), let the cake rest for 5 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.

In a food processor, ground the walnuts until fine but not powdery. You should still be able to see the bits of walnuts.

Add the walnuts to the dry ingredients and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.

Into this, add the egg yolks, one at a time, and continue beating until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix.

Fold in the dry ingredients and milk in the sequence flour-milk-flour. Mix until the flour is just incorporated. Set this aside.

In a clean mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy.

Gradually add the sugar, whisking all the while until stiff peaks form.

Transfer 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk mixture. Beat it in.

Gently fold in the remaining meringue in 2 batches, until no white streaks remain.

Pour the batter into a lined and lightly greased 8-inch round pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle some walnuts on top. I used walnuts that have been roughly chopped but you can use whole walnuts if you like.

Bake at 170°C for 45 minutes.

When the cake is done (insert a skewer it the cake and if it emerges cleanly it is done), let the cake rest for 5 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

As I noticed that the top of the cake was getting quite brown, I reduced the heat to 150°C in the final 20 minutes, then to 140°C in the final 5 minutes. You need to keep an eye on the cake and to know how your oven behaves so you can make the necessary adjustments.

Note that every oven is different – you need to experiment until you find a temperature that is best for baking butter cakes.

Hi Diane, I tried making this cake.. But my mould is larger abt 9″. After I unmould the cake, the sides are not straight as yours. It is sort of like concave in the middle. I didn’t unmould it after 5 mins.. I unmould it like after 20mins.. Could this be the reason?